Inflatable water amusement device



Sept. 21, 1965 1.. v. MEYERING INFLATABLE WATER AMUSEMENT DEVICE FiledMarch 1, 1965 INVENTOR AT TORNEYS United States Patent 3,207,509INFLATABLE WATER AMUSEMENT DEVICE Lawrence V. Meyering, Coopersville,Mich., assignor to Deutsch & Sons, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Mar. 1,1963, Ser. No. 262,819 1 Claim. (Cl. 27232) It is the prime object of myinvention to provide a water amusement appliance embodying a round,dishshaped device formed of flexible air and waterproof materialfabricated to provide a hollow body, with means for inflating the bodyto provide a buoyant float when it is desired to use the same in thewater; the body being deflatable to permit the collapsing and foldingthereof into a small, compact bundle.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a flexibleinflatable round body having connected to its upper and lower walls in anovel manner, a sleeve for rotatably supporting a vertical drive shafthaving detachably secured to its lower end a paddle wheel for bringingabout the spinning of the boat on the water upon rotation of the shaft,the shaft and paddle wheel being removable from the sleeve and the bodywhen the body is deflated and collapsed for shipping and packaging.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will behereinafter more specifically described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which drawing,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my improved water amusementdevice showing the same in use;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical central sectional view through the amusementdevice showing the hollow collapsible body in its inflated conditionready for use;

FIGURE 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 ofFIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating thebearing and supporting sleeve, and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the hollow body in its collapsed,folded condition with the shaft and paddle wheel removed therefrom.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter Dgenerally indicates my improved water amusement device, and the sameincludes a collapsible, inflatable body 5. The body 5 is formed fromflexible air and waterproof material, such as rubber, plastic or thelike, and includes upper and lower walls 6 and 7 and a connectingannular end wall 8. The body is preferably of a round shape in plan andin the form of a sector of a hollow sphere, when in its inflated set upposition. Thus, the upper wall 6 is of a dish-shape so as to permit oneor more persons to sit in the device when the body is in its inflatedset up position. At a desired point, the flexible body 5 is providedwith a valve 9 to permit the inflation of the hollow body to form abuoyant hull or float, and to also permit the deflation of the body whenit is desired to collapse or fold the same.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a centrally disposed sleeve10 having formed on its upper and lower ends outwardly extending flanges11 and 12. This sleeve is disposed within the body during thefabrication thereof and its flanges 11 and 12 can be cemented orotherwise secured to the inner faces of the walls 6 and 7. Fitted tightagainst the outer faces of the walls 6 and 7, are upper and lower plates13 and 14. The plates are provided with suitable openings and fasteningelements, such as screws 15, are passed through the openings and thewalls "use 6 and 7 are threaded into the flanges 11 and 12. By forciblytightening the screws 15, the walls 6 and 7 of the body can be squeezedbetween the plates and flanges to bring about a water-tight connection.The axial center of the plates 13 and 14 is provided with bearingopenings for rotatably receiving a vertically disposed drive shaft 16.The shaft extends beyond the lower end of the body and has detachablysecured thereto for movement therewith a bladed paddle wheel 17. Theshaft 16 above the top plate 13 has rigidly secured thereto a hollowbearing cap 18, and this cap bears against the top plate 13 and this capcan be packed with grease, if such should be desired.

The upper end of the shaft 16 is provided with a hand crank 19 wherebythe shaft can be manually rotated. Other means can be provided forbringing about the rotation of this shaft.

By having the body 5 formed of flexible material, the same can beinitially folded into a compact bundle for packaging and shipping asshown in FIGURE 4. When the body is collapsed, the paddle wheel 17 andshaft 16 with its cap 18 can be removed from the body. Thus, it can beseen that a compact bundle is provided which can be easily placed in amedium sized carton for shipping.

When it is desired to set up the device, the shaft 16 is slid intoposition and the paddle wheel is secured to the lower end thereof. Thebody can now be inflated by forcing air or other fluid under pressureinto the body through the valve 9. The body will be expanded and willtake the shape shown in FIGURES 1 and 2.

Obviously, the device can be readily collapsed whenever desired byoperating the valve 9.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided animproved water amusement device or spinner which can be readilycollapsed and folded into a compact bundle.

Various changes in details may be made, without departing from thespirit or the scope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

A Water amusement device comprising a free floating hollow body of around dish-shape and including upper and lower like walls and aconnecting annular wall, said walls being formed of flexible waterproofmaterial, means including a valve for inflating and deflating the hollowbody, a bearing sleeve disposed axially within the body and having upperand lower annular flanges engaging the inner faces of the top and bottomwalls, bearing plates engaging the outer faces of the upper and lowerwalls, means connecting the plates to the flanges, a removable driveshaft rotatably mounted in said plates and disposed at the axial centerof the body and extending through the lower plate, a paddle wheeldetachably secured to the lower end of the shaft, and an operating crankon the upper end of said shaft for bringing about rotation of the shaftand paddle wheel, whereby the device can be deflated, folded and thepaddle wheel and shaft detached to provide a compact package forshipping and inflated with paddle wheel and shaft attached for use as afree floating spinning amusement device.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,722,523 7/29Hunter 272-32 2,761,155 9/56 Headley 911.l X 3,088,732 5/63 Hetland272-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 198,425 5/08 Germany.

RICHARD c. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

